Ready-made bandage



-March 8, 1960 w. w. LOOK, JR

READY-MADE BANDAGE Filed July 24, 1958 INVENTOR. W/LL 020 m LOOKJA,

READY-MADE BANDAGE Willard W. Look, In, Union, Ohio Application July 24, 1958, Serial No. 750,746

4 Claims. (Cl. 206--63.2)

This invention relates to a ready-made bandage assembly and more particularly to an adhesive bandage assembly employing a breakable plastic plate for protecting the adhesive side of the bandage, the plate being of a type which may be broken when desired to expose the adhesive portions of the bandage for use. However, the invention is not necessarily so limited.

The ready-made bandage of this invention includes an adhesive tape or patch provided with a gauze pad, the bandage being of the type frequently sold under the trade name Band Aid. Typically, such bandages are provided with protective flaps on their adhesive surfaces and packaged in moistureproof paper ,or plastic wrappers, so that they may be maintained in a sterile condition until put into use. One of the problems associatcd with this type of package is that it is extremely difficult to remove the bandage from its wrapper and to separate the protective flaps from the adhesive surfaces of the bandage without exposing the gauze pad of the bandage to foreign substances and without bringing the hands into contact with the gauze pad.

An object of this invention is to provide a ready-made bandage which is assembled in combination with one or more protective layers in such a manner that the protective layers may be removed to place the bandage in condition for use without substantial danger of bringing the sterile portions of the bandage into contact with the hands or with foreign objects.

Another object of this invention is to provide a breakable plastic support for adhesive bandages which may be used as a temporary support and covering for the sterile portions of the bandage and which is provided with a predetermined line of breakage so that, when it is desired to remove the bandage from the support, the support may be fractured at a predetermined point and the separate pieces of the support easily and conveniently pulled from the bandage.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a sterile package for an adhesive bandage including a 1 still breakable plastic supporting plate having a built-in fault for determining a line of breakage therefor, and a water resistant covering for the plate, the covering and the plate cooperating to encapsulate the adhesive bandage.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof, the method of manufacture and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the readymade bandage assembly of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating one step in the use of the ready-made bandage.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the relative positions of the parts employed in forming the bandage assembly of this invention.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the ready- "ice made bandage illustrated includes an adhesive tape or patch 10 to which is adhered a normally sterile gauze pad 12. As best observed in Figures 1 and 2, the tape 10 is adhered in covering relation to the gauzepad 12 to a plate 14 which is largerin area than the area of the tape 10. As clearly appears in Figure 1, a marginal portion of the plate 14 not adhered to the tape 10 entirely surrounds the tape. The tape 10 incooperation with the plate 14 encloses the sterile gauze pad 12, so as to form a protective package for the gauze pad.

To insure optimum protection of the gauze pad 12, it is desirable that the ,width of the gauze pad 12 be less than the width of the tape 10, thereby providing adhesive margins 16 along the sides of the gauze pad 12. These adhesive margins cooperate with the ends of the tape 10 to form a continuous adhesive area surrounding the gauze pad 12. Accordingly, upon the tape 10 being applied to the plate 14, the gauze pad 12 may be completely sealed between the tape and the plate.

As will be made apparent in the following, it is preferable that the plate 14 be a stiif brittle plastic material which may be easily broken without shattering upon flex is, waterproof. The material may be a properly treated cloth or paper, or a thin pliable plastic, metallic foil, or'

the like.

The assembled bandage is illustrated in Figures 1, 2

audit. 'Referring to Figures 1 and 2 in particular, it, is evident that the sterile gauze pad 12 is full encapsulated by the tape 10 in cooperation with the plate 14 and,

furthermore, the tape 10 is fully encapsulated between the'plastic plate 14 and the covering 18. There is thus provided a double enclosure for the sterile gauze pad In order to facilitate placing the bandage in use, the plate 14 is weakened with a transverse score line or fault, as illustrated at 22. The score line may be formed in the plate 14 during its manufacture, as by molding or casting, or the score line may be later cut in the plate14 by any suitable routing tool or the like. As best seen in Figure 1, the score line is directly opposite and prefer ably centered with respect to the gauze pad 12.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the bandage assembly is disassembled by grasping the ends of the assembly and manually flexing the plate 14, so as to break the plate. The score line 22, which represents a weakening of the plate 14, defines the line of breakage for the plate 14. The two halves of the plate 14, being rigid, may be peeled away from both the covering 18 and the tape 10 through a proper pulling and twisting action while still grasping only the ends of the assembly. This enables the sterile gauze pad 12 of the bandage to be fully exposed for application to a wound without ever coming into contact with the hands or with other substances. After the gauze pad has been applied to the wound which is to be bandaged, and with the tape 10 partially adhered to the area surrounding the wound, the separate halves of the plate 14 and the covering 18 may be fully removed from A Patented Mar. 8, 1960 any desired sha'pe, that the gauze pad 12 may also have any desired shape, not necessarily complementary to the shape of the tape 10, and that also the plastic plate 14 and its covering 13 may take any desired shape, not necessarily complementary to that of the tape or of the gauze pad 12.

In constructing the ready-made bandage of this invention, the tape 10 may be any suitable woven or plastic material or the like, to which has been applied a suitable adhesive layer. Similarly, the gauze pad 12 may be any desired sterile cloth or the like. It is to be understood, of course, that the gauze pad is not an essential element of this invention. Thus, depending on the circumstances, the gauze pad may be omitted entirely from the bandage assembly, or it may be replaced with a poultice or plaster or the like, or it may be saturated or otherwise treated with a medicament.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A protective package for an adhesive patch including, in combination, a stiff plate engaging the adhesive surface of said patch, said plate being formed of a breakable material and having a transverse weakened zone defining a line of breakage therefor, said plate having a surface area exceeding the area of the adhesive surface of said patch, there being an exposed margin of said plate surrounding said patch, a covering for said plate and the patch thereon comprising a sheet of pliable moisture resistant material, and adhesive means securing the margins of said cover to the exposed margins of said plate.

2. A protective package for an adhesive patch including, in combination, a plate engaging the adhesive surface of said patch formed of a stiff breakable material, said plate having a surface area exceeding that of the adhesive surface of said patch, there being an exposed margin of said plate adjacent the margin of said patch, a covering for said plate and the patch thereon comprising a sheet of pliable moisture resistant material, and adhesive means securing the margins of said cover to the exposed margins of said plate.

3. A ready-made bandage assembly comprising, in combination, a patch having an adhesive surface, a gauze pad adhered to said adhesive surface, said gauze pad having an area less than that of said adhesive surface whereby portions of said adhesive surface are exposed adjacent the margins of said gauze pad, a stiff breakable plate overlying said gauze pad adhered to the exposed portions of said adhesive surface, said plate having surface area exceeding that of said patch, there being a continuous exposed area of said plate surrounding said patch, a pliable moisture resistant covering superposed upon said plate and the patch thereon, and adhesive means on said covering for engaging the exposed area of said plate surrounding said patch, said covering and said plate cooperating to encapsulate and protect said patch and the gauze pad adhered thereto.

4. A ready-made bandage assembly comprising, in combination, a patch having an adhesive surface, a gauze pad adhered to said adhesive surface, said gauze pad having an area less than that of said adhesive surface whereby portions of said adhesive surface are ex posed adjacent the margins of said gauze pad, a stiff breakable plate overlying said gauze pad adhered to the exposed portions of said adhesive surface, said plate having a transverse score line defining a line of breakage therefor, said score line being disposed opposite said gauze pad, said plate having a surface area exceeding that of said patch, there being a continuous exposed area of said plate surrounding said patch, a pliable moisture resistant covering superposed upon said plate and the patch thereon, and adhesive means bonding said covering and the exposed area of said plate surrounding said patch, said covering and said plate cooperating to encapsulate and protect said patch and the gauze pad adhered thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,292,024 Dreher Aug. 4, 1942 2,681,732 Brady June 22, 1954 2,703,083 Gross Mar. 1, 1955 

